Car sweeper or scraper.



PATBNTED MAY 14, 1907.

G. T'REVIRANUS. GAR SWEEPBR OR SGRAPER.

7 APPLICATION FILED DEC. 9. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

MJL.

ATTORNEY.

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GEORGE TREVIRANUS,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

CAR SWEEPER OR SCRAPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 14, 1907 Application filed December 9, 1904. Serial No, 236,134.

To all whom, zit may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE TREVIRANUS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Sweepers or Scrapers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable oth ers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to car sweepers, and has for its object the provision of means for sweeping or scraping earth, iron ore, orother. minerals from cars.

With this and other objects in view, it consists of a frame or rolling bridge adapted to move along and upon a suitable track and to span the track, or tracks, or roadway of the vehicles from which the material is to be swept, a carriage mounted on said frame and adapted to move longitudinally thereof and transversely of the second said tracks or transversely of said roadway, a vertically adjustable set of sweeping or scraping blades mounted on said carriage, means for moving said frame or bridge upon its supporting tracks, means for moving said carriage longitudinally of said bridge, and means for vertically adjusting said set of sweeping or scraping blades.

It also consists of certain other constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of said invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same, showing in vertical trans verse section a car from which the mineral has been scraped by the blades forming part of said invention.

In the drawings, 1 is a frame or bridge, mounted on wheels 2, which wheels are adapted to roll on tracks comprising the sills 3 and 3*, chairs 4 and 4 and rails 5 and 5 In order to prevent said frame from lifting from the rails 5 and 5 fingers 1 are formed on said frame and ada ted to extend under the wheel-contacting flanges of the respective said rails. It is obvious however that said frame and said rails or roadway may be modified or altered in many ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not therefore desire to be restricted to the exact construction to those parts as shown. Forming part of said frame are ways 1*, upon which is mounted and adapted to slide a carriage 6. In order to move said carriage on said frame, I provide a horizontal rack 7 secured to said frame, and upon said carriage I mount in suitable bearings secured near its lower end, is rigidlymounted a pinion 9 adapted to engage said rack. Upon the upper end of said shaft is a crank handle for turning said shaft. Mounted in suitable guides 10 forming part of said carriage is a vertically movable frame 11 of any suitable construction, to the lower end of which is secured a set of sweeping or scraping blades 11 preferably of such different lengths and end-contours that the front elevation of the set will conform approximately to the cross section of an ore car or of such car as it may be used for sweeping. In order to raise and lower said frame 1 1, there are secured thereto oppositely directed vertical racks 12 and 13, and in suitable bearings mounted on said carriage are journaled shafts 14 and 15, upon which, respectively, are rigidly secured two pinions 14: and 15 adapted to engage the relatively corresponding said racks 12 and 13. Upon said shafts 14 and 15 are also rigidly secured the belt Wheels 14 and 15 preferably of the sprocket wheel type, which are belted by belts 14 and 15, respectively, to belt wheels 16 and 17 respectively, which latter wheels are both journaled on a suitable sleeve which is mounted upon shaft 19, which, in turn, is journaled in suitable bearings mounted on said frame. carried by a bracket 18 extending from said carriage 6. Thus when said carriage moves along said frame it will through the medium of said bracket push said sleeve along said shaft 19. The wheels 16 and 17 will thus be kept in alinement with the wheels 14 and 15 respectively. But since the last named result may be accomplished in other ways within the scope of my invention, I do not desire to limit myself to the exact construction shown. Slidably keyed upon said shaft 19, are clutches 16 and 17 of any suitable construction, adapted to engage the reclutches being preferably connected by straps 16 and the constructlon being such that when. the clutch 16 is moved toward the wheel 16 the clutch 1'7 will consequently be moved away from the Wheel 17 and vice versa. In order to operate said clutches, I

thereto a vertical shaft 8 upon which, at or Said sleeve is too I spectively contiguous wheels 16 and 17, the

IIO

provide a lever 20, pivoted at its lower end as at to the carriage 6, and pivoted intermediate of its ends to said clutch 16. If desired a toothed segment not shown may be attached at a convenient place to said carriage to engage the upper end of said lever and hold said lever at the desired angle for engaging either of said clutches with its corresponding wheel or for holding said clutches out of engagement with either of said wheels. It will be observed that while said pinions 14$ and 15 will rotate in the same direction, their operation up onsaidiframe 11 will be dif ferent because of their engagement with the oppositely directed racks. Thus the pinion 1 1 will operate to raise said frame 1 1 and the pinion 15 will operate to lower said frame 11. In order to rotate said shaft 19, I preferably mount upon said frame 1 an electric motor 21, connected in any suitable manner to any suitable source of electricity, suitable switches being placed in the conductor be-,

tween said source and said motor and'located on said carriage 6 within reach of an operator standing on a suitable platform 22 erected upon said frame 1. Said motor and connections may be anysuchfsuitable ones as are well known to the art of electric motors and means for operating them, and it is therefore believed unnecessary to further describe them herein. Upon the armature shaft of said motor is keyed a belt wheel 23 connected by a belt 23 with a belt wheel 24 which is keyed to said shaft 19. A belt wheel 25 is also keyed to said armature shaft and is connected by a belt 25 with a belt wheel 26 keyed to a suitable shaft journaled in suitable bearings on said frame 1; a gear wheel 27 is also keyed to the last said shaft and is adapted to mesh with a gear wheel 28 keyed to a suitable shaft journaled in suit-. able bearings on said frame 1. Upon the same shaft with the gear wheel 26 is keyed a second belt wheel 29 which is coupled by a belt 29 to a belt wheel 30 journaled on a shaft 31 which is journaled in suitable bear ings 32 on said frame 1. Upon the same shaft with the gear wheel 28 is ke ed a belt wheel 33 which is coupled by a be t 33 to a belt wheel 34 journaled upon said shaft 31. It will now be observed that said wheel 30 will revolve in one direction on said shaft 31 and that said wheel 34 will rotate in the op posite direction on said shaft. In order to rotate said last named shaft with either of said wheels 30 01' 34, I provide the clutches- 30 and 3 1 slidably keyed to said shaft and connected together by suitable straps 30*. To said clutch 30 I pivotally secure a draw rod 35, to the opposite end of which I pivotally secure one end of a lever 36, which lever is pivoted intermediate of its ends to the frame 1, as at 36*. It will now be observed that by swinging said lever in one direction the clutch 3Q will be thrust into engagement with the side face of the wheel 30 and ower communicated from said wheel throug said clutch to the shaft 31, while by swinging the lever 36 in the opposite direction the clutch 3O will be disengaged from the wheel 30 and the clutch 34L will be carried into engagement with the wheel 34 and power communicated from the latter wheel to reverse the rotation of said shaft. Upon the op osite ends of said shaft 31 are keyed belt w eels 37 which are coupled by belts 38 to belt wheels 39 which are keyed to the shafts of the supporting wheels 2 of said frame 1. Thus the rotation of the shaft 31 will cause the supporting wheels 2 to move said frame along said track in one direction or the other as the case may be.

In operation, my said invention will usu-- ally be erected on a dock equipped with ore pockets, which pockets will be so located as to be ada ted to receive the ore scraped from the vehic esto be unloaded. Said vehicles will usually be of the type of ore cars which are provided with trap doors in their floors and have inclined slides. Such a car, alone or forming part of a train, being positioned over a pocket and beneath said bridge, the trap doors are opened and a large part of the oreris released therethrough by gravity. The carriage on said bridge is then brought over the end of the car and the scraping blades are lowered into the ends of the car. The bridge is then moved along its support ing tracks far enough to cause said blades to scrape the remaining ore to the trap door openings. The operation may be repeated. from either end of the car as often as necessary. The train may then be drawn forward to remove the empty car and bring a full car over the ocket, or, after such pocket is filled said ridge may be moved on its supporting tracks to a position over another pocket. The brid e may span any suitable number of car trac s and the carriage on the bridge may be moved back or forth to a position over any desired one of said tracks.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patcut is,

In a car sweeper or scraper, the combination of a bridge adapted to span a railway track and to move in a parallel direction thereto, a carriage mounted on-said bridge above said track and adapted to move transversely of said track, a vertically movable frame mounted on guides on said carriage and provided with oppositely directed vertical racks, pinions engaging said racks, a drive shaft journaled in hearings on said bridge, a motor, belt and belt wheel connections be tween said motor and said drive shaft, a sleeve carried by a bracket on said carriage and loosely engaging said drive shaft, belt Wheels mounted on said sleeve and belted to respectively corresponding belt wheels IIO mounted on the shafts of the respectively corresponding said pinions, clutches slidably keyed to said drive shaft at opposite sides of the belt Wheels on said sleeve, means for operating said clutches alternately, a set of scraping or sweeping blades carried. by and depending from said vertically movable frame,

a second drive shaft j ournaled in bearings on said bridge, power transmitting means con necting said motor and said second drive shaft, means including said motor and said second drive shaft for moving said bridge parallel with said track, and means for moving said carriage transversely of said track, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afliX my signature, 1n presence of two wltnesses.

GEORGE TREYIRANUS.

Witnesses JAMES T. VVATsON,

WELLINGTON M. BLEWETT. 

